10 days with Azhagiya Singar and Malolan

[Guest guest]

It is my great pleasure to share with you experiences of a different

kind from what I have had before and probably what many of us have

ever had in our lives.

 

My 4 week trip to India in February was different from pervious

trips. It did not include visiting family, friends or taking care of

business. It was purely a pilgrimage trip and included 10 days with

the travelling party of Srimad Azhagiya Singar. This tradition was

started in 1398 by Srimate Adivan Satakopan Yateendra Mahadesikan and

continues today 44 Azhagiya Singars later, with little change except

for the bus replacing palanquins and paper replacing leaves.

 

I started my tour by visiting Vrindavana, the place of Mukunda's bala

leelas. After 5 days, I not only had the fortune of visiting many

temples in a keshtram and also attending discourses, but also had to

deal with fever, cold and upset stomach. Some Bhagavatas in Delhi

saw to it that I made it to my train. The fever persisted in the

train leaving me sleeping through most of the 34 hour journey. I

arrived in Sri Ahobila Muth Triplicane only to find that Acharya's

program had changed and that He was not there. A few phone calls

later I found out that He was in Thiruvallore about 3 hours away by

taxi. I strutted about in a dazed state because of the exhaustion

caused by the fever and went to take Darshan of the neighbouring

Parathasarathi Swami. I was wondering if I had the strength to deal

with more taxi and auto drivers, when on my way back from the temple,

I met Sri Devanathan, Secretary to the Jeer, who was also on his way

to Thiruvallore. After accepting hospitality at his niece's place

for the night we proceeded to Thiruvallore the next morning.

 

Like major cities of America, there was heavy traffic on any Madras

(sorry Chennai) road and the road to Thiruvallore was no exception.

We passed by Thirumazhisai Azhwar's birth place on the way.

Thiruvallore is a small but busy township with a variety of

mechanized, non mechanized and animal drawn vehicles competing for

the right of way. It is one of the 108 Divya kshetrams and main

Perumal is Rama who goes by the name of Veera Raghava Perumal. He is

in an ananta sayanam posture very similar to Ananta Padmanabha swamy.

He even has a lotus sprouting from His navel from which Brahma is

born. By His side is S_____ Rishi who did Tapas for a long time

before Rama appeared there in order to fulfil the wishes of all those

who pray at this kshetram. Veera Raghava Swamy is also known as

Vaidya Veera Raghava Perumal, because of His reputation of curing all

kinds of illensses. I never paid much attention this until a priest

did an Archana for me without my asking him to do so. At the end of

this archana, my exhaustion disappeared suddenly]]

 

Acharya was also sick with a severe throat infection and fever. My

Sambhavanai for Him consisted of things like saffron, Vitamin C

1000mg and Ben Gay. The Vitamin C certainly came in very useful]

 

Thiruvallore temple came into the administration of Sri Ahobila Muth

during the time of the 33rd Jeer Srimate Srivan Satakopa Sri Satakopa

Yateendra Mahadesikan sometime between 1853 and 1879. It remained

the headquarters of the Muth for a long time and has the Brindavanams

(samadhi) of 5 Azhagiya Singars, including Injemetu Azhagiya Singar

the renowned 42nd Jeer.

 

After transacting his business with the Jeer, Sri Devanathan left for

Madras, leaving me to experience the Mutt for the next 10 days,

observing the practices, polishing up my anushthanam, and leading a

kind of life that only a few privileged few get and, fewer still

among this privileged class or those outside realize their fortune.

 

The first change I noticed in myself was that I was not anxious about

anything. I was determined to make the best of it, sickness,

mosquitoes, lack of hot water etc notwithstanding. Life begins

around 3 AM with everyone queuing up to complete morning necessities.

THis is followed by Nitya karmas near the well. Once this is done

those in charge of the cooking carry well water into the

thirumadapalli (kitchen) after purifying the ropes and the area

around the well with Mantras. Those responsible for the Aradhana

have more rites to perform than almost anyone else. Around 5:30

Nadaswaram is played. Around the sametime a nearby mosque blares

"Allah Ho Akbar...". I used to enjoy this Muslim prayer when I lived

in Nagaland where there was no temple and this was the only thing to

remind me of God. Here I considered it to be an interference. Here

I was in the company of Parama Bhagavatas, while those chanting Allah

did not know that their Allah was only a few yards away here in the

form of Malolan or next door in the form of Veer RAghavan. At 7

O'Clock sharp the curtain opens for the general public to get their

first view of Malola Lakshmi Nrsimha and more importantly for Malola

to begin His day by glancing at Mahalakshmi present invisibly on the

rear end of a cow that is brought in for Vishva Roopa seva.

 

At this time Perumal and Thayyar are woken up by chanting the Lakshmi

Nrsimha Suprabhatam. This is follwoed by many stotras. Acharya

comes in around this time and does His Maanasika Aradhanam. During

this time the curtains are closed and ladies sing for Perumal. When

the Maanasika Aradhanam (mental worship by the Acharya) is complete,

the bahya or external worship begins. At this time Mutt shishyas

chant the Gadya trayam of Bhashyakarar and many other stotras.

Acharya performs the Abhigamana Aradhana which is the most important

Aradhanam for a Sannyasi. One cannot help feeling jealous of His

state of perfection where He is able to enjoy the company of Perumal,

enjoy the bliss of Kainkaryam here and now, which for most of us will

come only after moksha.

 

The stotra Parayanam gives way to Veda Parayanam and Divya Parayanam.

Around 9 O'Clock Acharya personally gives Shathari to everyone

present. This preceded by teertham and followed by curd rice

prasadam.

 

When this is over the cooks prepare for ijjya (noon aradhanam)

neivedyam (offering to Perumal) and the aradhakas prepare for the

ijjya aradhanam which begins after 10:30. This is the aradhana that

most of us do at homes or our elders used to do at home. In the mutt

unlike temples, the priest chants within the mind so that there is no

risk of saliva desecrating the deity. Loud chanting is done by other

shishyas who sit outside the altar. This aradhana is completed

shortly after noon and lunch Prasadam is served thereafter. This is

a full 3 course meal and depending upon the location could be serving

anywhere from 100 to 5,000 people. Blessed are those that get to eat

this Prasadam, for it is so potent that it can increase Sattva guna

and suppress Rajo and Tamo gunas in anyone that enjoys the Prasadam.

Some people may object to temple worship as a waste of money, or

philosophy as a waste of time. But everybody enjoys food and

consicously or unconsciously gets spiritually benefitted. This is

the mercy of Sriman Narayana] The meal itself consists of rice with

vegetables, kozhambu, saathu amudu, thiru kanna amudu and curd rice

with vegetables and fried snacks like vadaam.

 

It is only after Prasadam and clean up that is around 2 O'Clock in

the afternoon that the Mutt shishyas who are responsible for the

aradhana and cooking get some rest after nearly 11 hours of work.

Yet these shishyas have been with the Mutt for 40 years or longer,

managing with meagre salaries. These are the silent unsung heroes

without whose service, Azhagiya Singars would not have achieved all

that they did over the past 600 years. Sriman Narayana has indeed

showered His choicest blessings on these shishyas. They have served

Azhagiya Singar after Azhagiya Singar, while Kulasekhara Azhwar and

Thondaradipodi Azhwar (please quote last Pasuram of Thirupalliyeuchi

here with translation) who aspired to be the servant of the Lord's

devotees now only get to do direct service to the Lord by adorning

His divya sariram.

 

After a 2 hour rest, the shishyas now begin for the Panaka Aradhanam.

Acharya makes His appearance during this Aradhanam, but does not take

an active part in the puja itself.

 

While at Thiruvallore, I had the good fortune of witnessing a Brahma

Utsavam. I remembered watching a royal parade of Queen Elizabeth on

TV in England, and how the whole thing appeared to be a joke, since

she was a head of state with no power. It was as if a whole nation

was sharing a fantasy. However here in Thiruvallore, the

announcement of the arrival of the emperor, the different types of

Upacharams done after his appearance on the street, the letting of

fireworks in celebration of the Divine Emperor making His appearance

to the common man on the street, brought about completely different

emotions. Here was the real parade, the real emperor, ruler of all

the worlds imaginable and unimaginable. Here was the emperor who

alone had the purity and the auspiciouness to make people want to

attain moksha, and who alone had the ability to award moksha.

Emperors generally do not make their appearance in prison houses.

But this emperor is an exception. He has even chosen to make His

appearance in the material world. Out of His infinite mercy He takes

away our freedom, so that we never find happiness in material life

and then hanker for the real happiness. It is again out of His mercy

that He sends divine souls from Sri Vaikuntha, who then become

Azhagiya Singars and purify us to the point where we also attain to

Sri Vaikuntha at the end of just one lifetime]

 

The upacharams complete, the emperor then waits to have the Darshan

of Srimad Azhagiya Singar, who descended from Sri Vaikuntha and goes

through all the tribulations of life on earth just as we do only for

the purpose of our deliverance. Srimad Azhagiya Singar

circumambulates Veera Raghava Swamy and after prostrating to His

Divine Master, follows the procession with Tamil Divya Prabandhams

being chanted in front of the procession and Veda Parayanam behind

the procession. All of life's trials are worth it if it enables one

to be present in such an auspicious event. I was in for a total

shock and reduced to a state of tears when Acharya called me in and

blessed me with the divine garland of Veera Raghava Perumal. He also

asked me to drink in the beauty of the Lord, but I was not

sufficiently free from sins to be able to do this the same way that

He enjoyed the Lord.

 

In the meantime, the shishyas took care to see that Malolan was

comfortably put to bed and everybody got to bed between 9:30 and 10

to get a good night's sleep before getting up again at 3:00 the next

morning. Good night's sleep has a different connotation in

Thiruvallore. Since there are no beds, there are no mosquito nets

that you could tie. I made liberal use of repellant creams and

incence coils, but with celeings 25 feet high, the smoke rose

straight up while mosquitoes made merry on my skin using my clothes

to protect themselves from the repellant, and biting through the tiny

gaps in the woven cloth]

 

After 4 days in Thiruvallore, we moved to Pammal near Madras. Here

we stayed in a school. I was just thinking to myself, how safe this

place is when a drunk accosted me, accused me of harassing young kids

and made threatening gestures. Sriman Narayana came to my rescue and

he disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. The same routine

followed in the Mutt. The unique nature about Pammal was the

presence of a large number of Smartha devotees on the first day.

>From Pammal we moved to a village called Oragadam. It was my first

visit to a South Indian village. Most of the dwelling units were

cottages with thatched roofs and oil lamps strategically placed in

recesses in the walls both inside and outside the houses. There was

plenty of greenery all around in the brightly starlight night one

could just enjoy the sheer beauty of nature that is impossible in a

city. The temple was the tallest and largest structure in the

village. It had a beautiful altar of Sita Rama and outside were

deities of all the Azhwars and some Acharyas including Adivan

Satakopa Yateendra Mahadesikan. Malola chose to make this temple His

residence for the 24 hours we spent here.

>From Oragadum we moved to Madras. After one day in Triplicane, I

moved out of the temple in order to able to meet the Bhagavatas that

lived outside but serve the Mutt in many different ways.

 

In conclusion I would say that living in the Muth is an experience

not to be missed if one gets the opportunity. Perumal makes His

anugraham in many different ways. It is here that one actually

understands what Swami Desikan meant when He says that the Jivatma is

like a crown prince entitled to the benefits that his Father, the

emperor is willing to dote on His favourite son]

 

Jaganath Bharadwaj.

[Guest guest]

Sri.Bharadwaj's nice little account of his sojourn with "Azhagiya-singar"

truly transports one to Tiruvellore --- also to one's own little "Maanasika

Aradhanam" to our Lord Malolan !!

 

Thank you, Sri.BharadhwAj, for a most touching account of what certainly

must have been a most eventful and unusual "vacation". I am sure you are

richer in experience for it.

mAlOla-priyan,

sudarshan

 

P.S.

you wrote:

Around 5:30

>Nadaswaram is played. Around the sametime a nearby mosque blares

>"Allah Ho Akbar...". I used to enjoy this Muslim prayer when I lived

>in Nagaland where there was no temple and this was the only thing to

>remind me of God. Here I considered it to be an interference. Here

>I was in the company of Parama Bhagavatas, while those chanting Allah

>did not know that their Allah was only a few yards away here in the

>form of Malolan or next door in the form of Veer RAghavan.

 

I live in Bahrain where, as in most Islamic metropolis, there are as many

mosques as supermarkets and ladies-boutiques!

 

My own apartment is just a couple blocks away from a great mosque. 5 times a

day the muezzin blares out his call for prayers through the public address

and believe me, at 4.30 Am in the morning it does sound welcome to my ears

like a strange but wholesome sort of "tirupallizEchi" wake-up call ! My

thoughts go then instantly away to the cool stone-steps on

"swami-pushkaraNI" where, at around the same time in the early hours

(adjusted for time-zones), one can hear the strains of

"sahasra-nama-archana" being performed to 'tiruvEngada-mUdaiyAn' inside the

temple !

 

You don't know how thankful I feel then for these Muslim calls for prayer !

They promptly remind me that my own time for "sandhyAvandanam" has arrived !!

 

Reversing your own logic, I am sometimes tempted to believe that the same

Narayana I worship also sits invisibly inside the "holy walls" of that

mosque around my street-corner and where devout "islamic-SriVaishnavaAs"

bend their backs as deeply as their minds in deep prayer!

 

Often when I drive by that spot, believe it or not, I find myself

"reflexively" doing "anjali" in that direction in the same way I would to

the Lord's "vImAna" from the step-ways of "kOnEri-theertham" !!

 

sudarshan